Chapter 136

I stepped out into the courtyard with Theo at my side. The gruff-looking bull-man was wearing a small tunic and some breeches that looked constricting on his large body. His new pants left absolutely nothing to the imagination, his large endowment looked like a large snake slithering down the side of his pants. He looked a bit scruffy but was otherwise very handsome if his personality wasn't so abysmal.

I looked over at the girls. Each one of them was wearing feminine dresses, even Torien with her matching maid uniform. The only one left out was Silva, though I assume she preferred it that way. I'll ask later but something tells me she would rather be dressed as a warrior than a servant, even if it meant some issues at some of the establishments that refused to directly serve slaves.

We had entirely cleared out the castle now, all of the lingering miasma faded by the time we finished scouring the bottom floor prisons. The part we were most worried about had actually been the easiest, though I don't think many people would have expected the baron's office to form a dungeon core right in the middle of a city. That was likely the reason none of the monsters had ventured down to the part of the castle that would normally be the most ripe for them to hide in, instead, they were most dense in the ballroom and close to the office.

I glanced at Theo who had begun talking with a few of the guards off to the side. The two cultists who he had killed didn't have anything of note on them and they were the only ones left down there from the cult group as far as we could tell. Theo's explanation was that once he took out those two, the rest of the men in black brigandine just left him locked in the cell. They thought it was better to let him rot rather than bother killing him.

Just like Silva, the cultists used the tunnel under the castle to escape. They didn't bother with the front portcullis winch because they were planning to escape out the back anyway. As for who left the gate open, I had a suspicion. What else could get a servant 2680 negative karma? Whatever determines how you get karma must have counted every death from the castle being raided as partially her fault. I didn't know how else to explain a low leveled servant having that much negative karma.

I spotted Nathaniel on one edge of the courtyard directing some of the guards. It looks like he came to handle things now that it was safe. As I started to head over to him Torien fell in line next to me. When I looked over at her she smiled. "What? I'm curious about what the next part of the plan is."

"Good to have another set of ears on it, thanks Torien." She nodded and focused on the priest as we headed over.

The priest smiled as he saw me approach. "Ah, Lilith! I got word about your help with the subjugation. It seems you've been much more helpful than we had expected. There will be a lot of paperwork and reports to go through for the rest of the day, since your part of the expedition is finished you may leave for now. Can you return here to the castle tomorrow? I'd like to do a debrief and settle payment then."

"What about the woman that was found today? I have a suspicion she was involved in the gate being left open," I asked.

He narrowed his eyes. "What would lead you to believe she was involved?"

I shrugged. "Call it a hunch."

"...That's a serious accusation to put on a survivor. Very well, I'll make sure someone keeps an eye on her for her own protection at the very least. We can talk about your... theories tomorrow before your debrief."

I nodded and stepped away to collect the rest of my party members.

Once we were out of earshot from the priest Torien leaned over to me. "Do you think it was wise to tell him about our suspicions regarding the servant? It's not as though we have solid evidence she was involved, at least none that we can share without revealing more about yourself."

"Mmm, I'm not sure to be honest. It's true that we don't have solid evidence but I don't know how else to handle someone so clearly involved." I scratched the base of my horn in thought.

She turned to look at me and lowered her voice. "What about that thing you did to the man who tried to violate you? Bella told me about that."

I took a breath to steady my nerves. From her tone, Torien doesn't realize how much of a sore spot that memory still is for me. "...I haven't thought about that ability for a while. I don't know if it's something I ever want to use again. Using it felt... wrong."

Torien's face hardened. "Even if the man deserved death? Even if the woman we're talking about indirectly got many of the people in this castle killed? What Bella told me of that incident sounded like a mercy, a just punishment for someone so vile."

I tightened my fist and felt a wash of heat run down my neck and settle in the pit of my stomach. "It's... I... I don't want to talk about this right now."

When I turned to Torien she started and her eyes went wide. "Lilith... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry. Are you okay?"

I touched my face and found it wet. I don't feel sad, I feel ...angry. So why am I crying? I quickly wiped my eyes and continued forward. "Let's get everyone and get out of here. This place is starting to get to me."

"...Right." Torien was following a step behind me now but I didn't know how to face her at the moment anyway. There were so many emotions going through me right now, embarrassment, anger, self-loathing, frustration. It's too much to deal with.

Stepping into range of my bond with the other girls caught me off guard, Bella and Mimi both snapped their attention on me the moment our emotions brushed against each other. I clamped down on the bond as soon as I realized and felt like a moron for letting it happen. I forgot how easy it is for them to read my feelings and now they're going to ask me about it. I can't deal with this, please just let me get back home first.

I cleared my throat. "Looks like debriefing is tomorrow so we're free to go for the night. I'm pretty tired so let's head back to the Ruby Vixen for now." Bella and Mimi traded concerned looks and Morrigan shot a confused look at Torien behind me.

"You lot are staying at a brothel? That must be an interesting story, though I should have expected it based on the book you owe me."

I turned to see Theo standing off to the side, I had totally forgotten he was here too. Ugh right, the book. I'm going to have to have that conversation too. I wonder if I can put that off for later.

Morrigan shot a worried look at Theo. "Lilith, how much does he know about you?"

I rubbed my face. "More than I'd thought, clearly. We'll talk about that later after I've had a chance to rest. You don't mind staying there with us do you?"

"Er, no, but I'm kind of low on money. I don't really have the cash to spend the night there."

"We can figure it out when we get there. The city's kind of fucked up right now so they might be willing to give you a deal. I'm also... kind of friends with the owner so maybe we can work things out."

"That suits me I suppose," he said hesitantly.

"Great, does everyone have everything?"

Everyone nodded so I turned around and started leading our group towards the gate. It's been a long day and that turn in my conversation with Torien ruined my mood. I sighed. Despite everything I didn't hold it against Torien, it's just bad memories. Maybe... some unprocessed feelings.

My chest felt tight on the walk back. There were hushed whispers behind me but I didn't have the mental energy to listen in. Rather, I didn't want to know what they were saying about me right now. I was probably making a fool of myself in front of Theo, someone I just met. But I'd probably just say something stupid if I tried to talk to him now so I kept to silence on the trip back.

It wasn't long before we reached the familiar sight of the Ruby Vixen in the warm afternoon light. It wasn't even dark outside yet but the building was a sight for weary eyes. ...just that short snippet of a conversation felt more exhausting than the entire fight with the dullahan.

The lobby of the Ruby Vixen felt so inviting to me as I stepped inside. It was odd, I've only been here a few days but it already felt like home. More than any of the inns did in Traehall at least.

My mind briefly flashed to the room I had first shared with Bella and I quickly shook the thought away when my stomach turned once again.

I refocused on the warm common room lit with candlelight and the familiar old-fashioned hotel desk with cabinets of keys behind it. Behind the desk was a familiar face, Eira the demi-cat kin who Bella healed yesterday waved us over when we came in.

"Lilith! It's great to see you again!" The energetic catgirl smiled, her cute spotted tawny ears were moving back and forth with each syllable making her seem even more energetic if that was even possible. I hadn't gotten a good look at her ears and tail when she was in her room since it was so dark but now that I had a better look at her they seemed like they belonged on a cheetah or other kind of big cat.

Despite my sour mood, her energy brought a smile to my face. "Hello Eira, you look like you're feeling a lot better."

"I feel great now! Miss Grace put me on desk duty for a while though, she wants to make sure I'm fully recovered before I start taking clients again."

"Is that a bad thing?" I asked.

"Mmm, no. It's not as fun as some of the other work I get to do here but Miss Grace only assigns people she trusts to desk duty, and it pays well, so it's kind of like a promotion. Even if I don't like it, I'll only be working reception for a week at most."

I smiled. From what she was saying I wouldn't be surprised to see her in the next group of girls I transformed. I liked Eira a lot, I would be disappointed if she turned me down.

Eira leaned on the desk and looked around me. "Your friend there sure seems popular with the ladies, did you bring us a customer?" she said with a snicker.

I turned around to see several girls flirting with Theo. A large horse-kin woman was whispering in his ear and two of the smaller mouse women were straddling his legs. He was drawing a lot of attention throughout the room and I could tell he was well-liked from all the way over here. His skintight breeches were stretched taut and the mouse-girls had their hands all over it. The bull-demi was quite happy to let them continue but respectfully kept his hands off of them, the model of brothel etiquette.

I turned back to Eira. "Uh, I guess I'll pay for his room but any of the girls he takes back to his room will be from his own purse."

She smiled. "A friend of yours is a friend of ours. I'll comp him the room, he can work out what he wants to do with the girls on his own," she said with a laugh.

"You sure?" I asked.

"No problem! The Ruby Vixen owes you guys and there are a lot of empty rooms right now anyways. Besides, this place doesn't make much on the rooms in the first place, the price is more to stop people from staying all day or trying to live here. Oh! No offense! Of course you and your girlfriends are welcome to stay as long as you want! That wasn't directed at you."

I smiled. "That's okay. I appreciate it."

I stepped away from the desk and turned to my friends. "I'm going to go up first and lie down for a bit. ...I need some time to clear my head." I was worried they would insist on following me but those fears were unfounded.

Bella gave me a gentle smile. "Alright. Go get some rest Lilith. We'll head up in a few bells."

I felt her melancholy brush against my bond as I climbed the stairs.